Street-car advertising device.



W. F. SWEET.

STREET GAR ADVERTISING DEVICE.

. APPLICATION FILED OOT.6, 1909. 1,o27,7a0

Patented May 28, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WELCOME. E SWEET BY @i fi l W. F. SWEET.

STREET GAB. ADVERTISING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION FILED 0O'1'.6, 1909. r 1,027,780. Patented May 28, 1912. I z SHEETSSHEET 2.

FIGS

WELCOME F. SWEET, OF'ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

STREET-CAR ADVERTISING- DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 6, 1909. Serial No. 521,366.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WELCOME F. SWEET, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Street-Car Advertising Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to makeand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specificat1on,-1n wh1ch Figure 1 1s a front elevatlon of a portion of a street car advertising apparatus ofmy improved construction. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 22 ofFig. 1, and showing the position of the right hand card-carrying frame after the same has been shifted from the front row of frames to the rear row. Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the right hand end of the upper molding, which molding supports the upper ends of the card-carrying frames. Fig. 5 is a view looking at the under side of the portion of moldingseen in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 6 6 of Fig.'

4. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a guide plate which is located on the end of the rail betweenthe two parts of the upper molding. Fig. 8 is a cross section taken on the line 88 of Fig. 4.

My invention relates to an advertising apparatus particularly intended for use on the above.

interior of street cars, immediately rying. frames between the supports andto move said frames from one end of the car to the other, in order that the advertising; cards carried by said frames will successively appear to the view of the passengers of the car. j

A- further object of my invention is to provide simple means at the ends of the supports whereby the frames are automatically shifted'from one row to the other.

By my improved apparatus I am able to double the capacity of the advertising rack 'asnow used in street cars inasmuch as my improved apparatus utilizes a double row of card-carrying frames above the window inthe side of a car, and thus a comparati'vely large number of advertisers can be accommodated, and, the income from the Patented May 28,1912.

use of the apparatus correspondingly insists in certain novel features of construc-.

tion and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, 1 designates the side wall of a car, and 2 that portion of the wall which curves inwardfrom ,the side wall to the deck of the car. Located on the interior of the side wall 1, immediately above the windows thereof, is a molding strip or rail 3, in the top of which is formed a pair of parallel grooves 4, which extend approximately the entire length of the rail 3, and the ends of said grooves are united by pockets such as 5. These grooves 4, are of considerable depth, and the ends of-the rib 4 which is formed between said grooves, is cut away as designated by 4 for a short distance immediately adjacent each pocket 5.- The purpose of thus cutting, away this rib 4? is to permit the card-carrying frames hereinafter described, to swing or shift from the front row to the rear row, or vice versa.

Journaled for rotation in each pocket, is a small sprocket wheel such as 6, and passing around the two sprocket wheels, and travers-.

ing the grooves 4, is a sprocket chain 7. The shaft 8 of one of the sprocket wheels 6, is extended downward and driven in any suitable manner, for instance, by a small motor, or by being connected to some of the driving mechanism of the car.

Located at each end ofthe rail 3, on top thereof is a pair of blocks 9, between which is formed a slot 10. and the inner ends of said blocks 9 are provided with beveled or inclined faces 11.

The card-carrying frames 12 of my improved apparatus are preferably rectangular in outline, and curved in crosssection to correspond to the curvature of the portion 2, of the car side wall. -Each frame is pivotally mounted at the center of its lower edge upon a pin 13 projecting upward from the chain 7. By thus mounting the frames on the chain, both endsf'of each frame are free to swing from one side of the rail 3, to the other when shifted from one row of frames to the other at the ends of said rail 3. The upper ends of the front row of frames bear against and ride upon a rail 14, which is supported in any suitable manner adjacent the deck of the car, and a corresponding rail 15 is arranged inside the rail 14, and supports the upper ends of the rear row of frames during their travel. The ends of the rail 15 terminate inside of the rails 14 which arrangement is necessary to permit the upper portions of the frames to shift from the front to the rear row and vice versa and at the ends of the apparatus. The end portions of the rails 14 are widened. or extended downward as designated by 16, and the inner faces of said downwardly extending portions are beveled or inclined as designated by 17. It is necessary to widen the end portions of the rail 14 in order to form a support for the upper portions of the card carrying frames as the same are transferred from one row to the other at the ends of the apparatus. Fixed to the ends of the rail 15 and on the inner faces thereof, are metal plates 18 the projecting ends of which are bent outward as designated by 19, and formed on each outwardly bent portions 19 is a horizontally disposed bearing plate 20.

hen my improved apparatus is in use, the shaft 8 is driven and correspondingly drives the sprocket chain 7, and as a result the double row of frames carried by said chain move in opposite directions from one end of the apparatus to the other. During this travel of the frames, the lower portions thereof ride in the grooves 4, and the upper portions of said frames bear upon the rails 14 and 15. As each frame is brought to the right hand end of the apparatus, the extreme outer end of said frame will bear against the beveled face 11, of one of the blocks 9 and will be guided into the slot 10,

and at this point in the operation the pivot pin of this frame is at center or in directalinementwith the center of the shaft 8 and the center of the slot 10. As this pivot pin passes the center and starts upon its rearward movement, the inner end of the frame will swing from a position over the front groove 4 to a position over the rear one of said grooves 4 as shown in Fig. 2. To accommodate this movement of the frames the ends of the rib 4 are cut away as designated by 4 for a short distance from the pockets 5. During this shifting move ment of the frames, the outer end of each frame in traveling to limit of movement to ward the right will bear against the inclined or beveled face 17 on the inside of the downwardly extended portion 16 of the rail 14, and when the inner end of the frame is shifted rearward as hereinbefore described, the upper edge of said frame will tilt slightly, and the inner end of said frame will move past the bearing plate 20, and past the bent end 19 of the plate 18. W hen the inner end of the frame is thus shifted rearwardly as just described, the top edge of the frame will be drawn inward to a certain, extent toward the curved wall 2 of the car immediately above the rail 3, and as this action takes place the outer upper corner of the frame just shifted will rest upon the widened end of the rail 14 and thus will be supported until the movement of the con veyer 7 carries the card into position behind the rail 15. As the frame starts on its rearward movement it will be guided by the bent end 19 of the plate 18, so that it will pass to the rear side of the rail 15, and during the travel of the frame to the opposite end of the apparatus, the upper edge of said frame will bear and ride upon the rail 15. The reverse of the movements just described takes place at the opposite or left hand end of the apparatus, and the cardcarrying frames are successively shifted fro-1n the rear row to the front row, and the continuous movement of the front row of cards from one end of the car to the other, will naturally attract the attention of the passengers of the car, thus obtaining the desired result.

An apparatus of my lmproved construetion can easily be lnstalled in cars in present use, can be operated with the expenditure of little power, and by the use of said apparatus the advertising capacity of a car is doubled as compared to the present practice of fixing a single row of cards in position on the wall of a car above the windows.

I claim.

1. In an apparatus of the class described, a horizontally disposed support, an endless carrier arranged for operation thereon, a series of card carrying frames, the lower edges of which are pivotally connected at their centers to the carrier, and which frames are curved in cross section, a pair of rails positioned above, to one side of, and arranged at an angle relative to the horizontally disposed support for supporting the free upper portions of the frames, the inner one of which rails is wider and shorter than the other, guide plates on the ends of the shorter rail each of which plates comprises an inclined portion and a horizontally disposed portion for guiding the upper portions of the frames when the same are shifted from one row to the other at the ends of the apparatus, and the projecting ends of which longer rail are widened to support the upper portions of the frames when the same are shifted from one row to the other at the ends of the apparatus.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, a horizontally disposed support, an endless carrier operating thereon, a series of card carrying frames pivotally connected at their centers to the carrier, which frames are curved in cross section, a pair of inclined rails arranged above, to one side of, and at an angle relative to the horizontally disposed support .for supporting the upper ends of the frames, the inner one of which rails is shorter and wider than the other, guide plates projecting from the ends of the shorter rail for directing the movements of the upper portions of the frames when the same are shifted from one row to the other at the ends of the apparatus, and the projecting ends of which longer rail are widened to serve as supports for the upper portions of the frames when the same are shifted from one row to the other at the ends of the apparatus.

8. In an apparatus of the class described, a horizontally disposed support having a pair of grooves formed in its top surface, an endless carrier operating in said grooves, a series of card carrying frames, thelower edges of which are pivotally connected at their centers to the endless carrier, and the upper edges of which frames are free and unattached, shoulders formed at the ends of widened to support the upper portions of the frames when the same are transferred from one row to the otherat the ends of the apparatus.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aifix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 30th day of September, 1909.

' WELCOME F. SWEET;

Witnesses M. P. SMITH, ALMA GEBHART.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

